206 THEISLAND ACADIANS

Third Prince. Normally, when an elected Acadian is a member of the party in power, he is appointed to the cabinet as a minister without portfolio.

In 1917, the Acadians were delighted to see one of their compat- riots become Premier of the province. The lawyer, Aubin-Edmond Arsenault (son of Senator Arsenault), became leader of the government after Premier Mathieson resigned. He was the first Acadian to become a provincial premier in Canada. However, his government was defeated in the elections of 1919. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, a position he occupied until 1946. The other Acadian Members of the Legislative Assembly who became ministers without portfolio during this period were: Benjamin Gallant, Jérémie Blanchard, Marin Gallant and Adrien Arsenault.

Despite the demands of L’Impartial and the Acadians, few Aca- dians were able to find positions in either the provincial or federal civil service. The rare posts they did occupy were of minor importance. The shortage of educated candidates and the lack of political influence contributed to this state of affairs.

If Acadians were conspicuous by their absence in the civil service, they were proportionately over-represented in the armed forces during the two world wars. The campaign against conscription led by the Québécois did not appear to have affected the francophone commun- ity on the Island. The large Acadian families there provided numerous young men to defend the country, many of whom died in action.

AGRICULTURAL CHANGES

GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE

World War I, the Depression during the 1930s and World War II had a devastating effect on the international economy, affecting even the smallest Island farmer. But before the turn of the century, federal and provincial government intervention caused a total restructuring of farming on the Island. As we have seen, the cultivation of oats and potatoes for export had depleted the soil; even spreading mussel mud was not enough to restore all the nutrients to the land. It was thus necessary to find a way of using the land that would be less destructive.